Indonesia rejects intervention over schools' alleged links with Gulen

Indonesia rejects intervention over schools’ alleged links with Gulen

Horizon International School, Indonesia

Date posted: July 29, 2016

Jakarta (ANTARA News) – Indonesia rejects any intervention with the country’s internal affairs including over alleged links of a number of Indonesian Islamic boarding schools with Fethullah Gulen, a popular imam, accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a recent failed coup attempt in that country.

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said here on Friday Indonesia is a democratic country that consistently adopts active and independent policy.

Fethullah Gulen is a popular Turkish imam, the founder of the Islamic Transnational Religious and Social Movement, now living in the United States.

He was repeatedly accused by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being behind the recent failed coup attempt by a faction of the Turkish military.

On Thursday (July 28) the Turkish embassy issued a news release asking the Indonesian government to close all schools having links with Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

The release gave a list of 9 schools allegedly having links with the Gulen movement including 1. Pribadi Bilingual Boarding School of Depok, 2. Pribadi Bilingual Boarding School of Bandung, 3. Kharisma Bangsa Bilingual School in South Tangerang, 4. Semesta Bangsa Bilingual Boarding School in Semarang, 5. Kesatuan Bangsa Bilingual Boarding School in Yogyakarta, 6. Sragen Bilingual Boarding School in Sragen, 7. Fatih Boys Shool in Aceh, 8. Fatih Girls School in Aceh, 9. Banua Bilingual Boarding School in South Kalimantan.

Earlier on Friday Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Saifuddin said the Indonesian Government is still studying the request.

He said the Religious Affairs Ministry wants to know if the Turkish government referred to public schools or Islamic schools having any links with Gulen.

“If what they referred to is Islamic schools, it would be for the Religious Affairs Ministry to answer, but otherwise it would be for the Ministry of Education to answer,” he said.

After studying the request the Indonesia government would officially send its answer via the Turkish embassy here, the minister said.

However, Pramono said until now there has been no official request from the Turkish government as said in the news release issued by the embassy.(*)

Source: Antara News , July 29, 2016